


Trust: The Valley of Torment

by GreenGroove



Series: Trust [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Battle, F/F, Gen, M/M, Minor Injuries, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29777055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenGroove/pseuds/GreenGroove
Summary: Judith, the Hero of Daphnel, joins Claude and his Golden Deer at the Valley of Torment. Things don't go as planned, but Claude gets a firm reminder about trusting his comrades.
Relationships: Catherine/Shamir Nevrand
Series: Trust [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195271
Kudos: 1





	Trust: The Valley of Torment

Judith was coming. On her way.

Claude felt faint. “I need a breather before the battle,” he mumbled, maintaining composure until he could lean against the monastery wall, outside.

He felt too much, and it came in a torrent - of memories, of pain, of hypotheticals: what if she got killed? what if we won’t know and I can’t fight? What if she dies under Teach’s command? Or–

The hand on his shoulder was enough to almost make him scream. Almost.

“Shamir?” he whispered. Of all the people to see him vulnerable, it was the ice wall of Teach’s battalion.

The grip squeezed.

“She’ll be fine.” 

Claude looked at her - through her, even - for a long time. What did she want? How did she know? What was her _aim_ ? Eyes squinted, searching for… _something_. He brushed off her hand.

“Thanks. I appreciate the check-in. We’ll head out on Teach’s signal.”

It was curt. Impersonal. Businesslike. …Maybe too obvious, now that he thought about it.

Shamir let him get a few paces. “The ranks should be filled with your most trustworthy allies. Sealing yourself off might be a lethal decision.”

Claude stopped dead. Hesitating, he turned around to face her. 

“It’s not…” he started, faltering. “I’m not…” His gaze searched hers.  
  
She closed the gap. “The Emperor won’t waste a second guessing the loyalty of her ranks. You would do well to follow her lead.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Trust.”  
  
“What are you talking about? I trust _everyone._ We’re not just a battalion, but a _team_.”  
  
“Don’t pull that shit with me, Khalid. Loverboy might buy it, but I won’t.” Shamir had the audacity to look _smug,_ shifting her weight to one side, crossing her arms. “We’ve got your back. _All_ of us.”

“Loverboy…” The Professor… and how did she know about the name Khalid? Nah, nope - any chance of opening up to Shamir was as good as gone; the chance as lost as Rhea. Claude effortlessly put on his signature aloof mask.

“Appreciate the _spicy_ pep talk, Shamir. Though, it could use a bit of finetuning.” He waved his arms, as if to shoo away the idea. “Ahhh, with hard work… and _trust_ … we’ll get there.”

With a wink, he strode away. She smirked, watching him.

From her right came a stage whisper: “What’d he say?!”

Shamir rolled her eyes. “Nothing too interesting.” She scoffed. “And come down from there. You look ridiculous and you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Catherine crawled out from her spot tangled in some scaffolding and jumped down next to Shamir. She couldn’t contain her excitement, dancing from foot to foot.

“Is he gonna let us tag team for the event like we talked about?! I’m just _itchin’_ for a fight with my favourite girl!” Catherine said, hip-bumping her partner.

“…Yes, he did. Now let’s get ready; it’s nearly time.” 

* * *

  
  
At the battlefield, what was once the Golden Deer house looked onward. Judith met with them and hashed out a rough game plan: she stay hidden, then flank. Easy.  
  
The battle wasn’t so easy. Claude found himself without a moment’s rest, dodging arrows, launching off arrows of his own  
  
“Aaagh!”  
  
It came from his left - Catherine! She crumpled to the ground, but the fight was far from out of her spirit. Thankfully, Shamir - who was never far away - provided cover while Catherine took stock of the situation.  
  
“It’s bad, ‘Mir,” she called out, inspecting the deep gash in her leg.   
  
"Shake it off, focus!" Shamir called back, working overtime to protect her partner.  
  
The way the battle was going, the ambush on Catherine and Shamir would leave the flank idea useless! Judith would expose herself, be without nearby allies, _and_ give herself away as a prize.  
  
Claude felt time stop, but only for a heartbeat. He signalled for his wyvern to warn her, but--  
  
“No, Claude--!”  
  
To his right came Judith, stumbling backwards out of a partially-molten path. She was alone, and held her hands up to her streaming, red eyes, which were jammed shut. That wasn’t where she was meant to be, and even so--  
  
“Judith?” Claude asked, cautiously. The nice thing about the ambush -- “nice thing” -- is that they had a few moments to themselves. He had trust in Teach to take care of the hairiest parts of battle if it came to that, and it often did. “What happened? You’re out of position, and--”  
  
“Now is _not the time_ , boy!” Judith said, starting a reprimand, but was cut short by several monks appearing in a glow of purple light.  
  
“Hey!” Claude yelled, trying to intimidate them away by raising his bow. It didn’t work; one of the Kingdom monks kicked ash up from the ground, using magic to siphon it like a geyser at both him and Judith. Claude was able to shield himself…  
  
Judith, the Hero of Daphnel, wasn’t so lucky.  
  
“Cl-- _mmmf_ !” was all Judith could say as two monks dragged her away, a third wrapping a wet cloth around her nose and mouth. She went limp.  
  
“Ju-?!” Claude tried to yell, but coughed, _hard._ To make matters worse, the raging of the battle seemed to steamroll over by his fallen comrades.  
  
“Aagh, _fuck_ !” came a cry from his left. His eyes darted, following the sound, watching Shamir go down as well. More and more Kingdom soldiers came at them - were there any end to those guys?! They were getting overwhelmed!  
  
Claude nocked an arrow onto Failnaught and let it fly, nailing one of the soldiers in leg! That moment gave Shamir the opportunity to sweep out her dagger and kill the soldier.  
  
“Sleep in the dirt,” she said with a growl, turning with her shield raised over Catherine’s prone body -- just in time, too, as the shield blocked an axe blow so heavy, the spark of steel meeting steel could be seen even through the lava plumes.  
  
In the process of nocking another arrow to shoot off one of the soldiers surrounding Cyril, he heard a snippet of a conversation below him.  
  
“How much do you think she’ll sell for?” asked one of the monks dragging Judith’s body. Another chuckled and picked up her legs, allowing them to walk faster.  
  
“ _Sell_ ? Do you think some peasant merchant is going to pay us more than the _Emperor_? I’m sure her plans for this one here are as big as her bounty!”

They laughed. Claude’s blood boiled. Gwendal was working for _Edelgard?_ Or he just had some _secret_ defectors? He instructed his wyvern to chase, and _fast_ . He gripped the reins so tight, he must have sworn his knuckles turned white.  
  
That’s when an arrow, expertly aimed, struck one of the monks carrying Judith in the neck. Claude watched as the other two fell in similar fashion. It only took him a few moments of gaping before he looked over at Shamir, who mouthed one word:  
  
_Trust._  
  
And gave him a wink. Claude jumped off his wyvern and sighed out a relieved laugh. He picked up Judith, wrapped her safely onto his wyvern, and finished the battle. They returned to the monastery to recon.  
  


* * *

  
  
“I can’t believe we got outta there alive,” said Cyril. He shook his head, wincing at the sight of Shamir holding up Catherine’s larger frame.  
  
The glance didn’t get past Catherine, who laughed. “You think a simple wound like _this_ is gonna keep _me_ down?!” She gloated; Shamir sighed.  
  
“Ignore her, I’ve got her souped up on painkillers.”  
  
“I could defeat _that whole army by myself_! Again! C’mon ‘Mir, _lemme at em_!”  
  
“No.”  
  
Byleth walked in with Judith, helping her walk. Claude nodded towards Judith with a questioning look and he received a curt nod in response.  
  
“Glad to see you’re alright,” he said. Despite himself, he chuckled. “You sure those guys are gonna recover?”  
  
That allowed Judith to stand a bit taller, walking out from Byleth’s watchful gaze. “After what _I_ did to them?” She cracked her knuckles, loudly. “They won’t be working for Gwendal _or_ the Emperor, anymore.”  
  
This fired up Catherine. “Yea-heah! _That’s_ the attitude I like to hear!” She gave Judith a friendly punch that was just a _little_ _too_ rough. Shamir tugged on Catherine’s arm, muttering something that made her partner blush, then quiet down with a nod.  
  
“No need to celebrate just yet,” Claude said, holding up a hand. He turned to address his former classmates. “This is just the beginning, and it’s only going to get harder from here.” He nodded towards Judith.  
  
“Thank you. Your reinforcements are invaluable. We can really turn this war around, but we have to maintain an even keel and remain steady in our advances.”  
  
She nodded. “Sounds good to me. You’re an adept commander after all, _boy_.” She grinned.  
  
“Who knew? All it takes is a little trust,” Claude said, returning the smile. For once, it reached his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not very hip on FE:3H lore, so please consider this a self-contained AU of the battle at Ailell.


End file.
